Love Among the Guns
by rikudemyx
Summary: Leo is alone in Steelport, a city owned by gangs. When he catches the eye of the boss of the Third Street Saints, will the boss be able to put his anger and violence on the back burner to love someone? I do not own Saint's Row. Notice: This story will contain death, slash, sex, noncon, abuse, as well as a host of other things. It's a story about gangs, not bunnies.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello again everyone. To all my fans of Caught in Between thanks for coming back, however I won't be able to update this story as often as I did with CIB, school is back in session.**

-Leo POV

Leo hated the rain. Well...no one really hates the rain, they hate being caught in the rain. This was exactly the situation he found himself in now. The cause? A worthless car and the wrong side of town, making bus travel a virtual death sentence. It was safer to walk, at least this way if anyone tried to give him any problems he could run. Leo was not an expert at fighting, quite the contrary. If someone was to classify him in traditional Western conventions, at best he could called a nerd, at worst, a dork.

Leo would much rather be studying algorithms and equations than walking home from his father's house. This was the way his life was though. His father never gave a damn about him, and since Leo had come out of the closet, things had gotten even worse. His father wasn't abusive or violent, but he was cold. Leo used to say that he was colder than his dog tags. The Marines did not teach their soldiers about emotion.

Leo suspected that it was this standoffish attitude that made his mother leave. At least he was lucky to lose her early. Three years old is not really long enough to form a true emotional bond. For a while, he felt as though he had a hole inside of him. Now though, it was all just plugged up. Years of high school bullying and dejection would do that to you. So, all in all Leo was happy that he was walking rather than ride with his father.

Steelport was not Leo's home town, nor was it a place that he thought of as home. Nothing would make him happier than to move away to a city like Los Angles or Washington D.C. Steelport was the cheapest and easiest choice though. Maybe it was the four gangs that ran the city, but you could get an apartment for a quarter of the price he could anywhere else as far as a city this size was concerned.

As Leo turned the corner on the docks, his pace quickened. There really wasn't such a thing as a good gang in this area, but the Luchadors owned the docks and they were certainly the worst of the bunch. Unfortunately, Leo's luck, which was never good to begin with, was especially low tonight.

"Well, well boys, look at the little faggot...all alone." A deep booming voice came from behind him. Leo had always found particular hatred with that word. When he was young, it had been directed towards him because he was gay, that was a given. It wasn't the most original saying, but at least it was well known. Now however, Leo could not imagine what gave him away as being gay. It wasn't especially obvious. It was true he was skinnier than a twig and nerdy, but saying that these features made him gay, consequently meant that every muscle bound jock was straight...and history had proven otherwise.

Regardless of the situation or the words, Leo did not turn around or acknowledge that he had heard them. He kept on walking, which in the end would turn out to be a mistake.

"Yo! Kid! Slow down, we just wanna talk with you." Whoever it was, the man was drunk. His words slurred and Leo could could hear the awkward shuffle of a man who's motor functions were impaired. Not far behind that was the sound of several other boots. Leo didn't want to turn around and check, but it sounded like he was being followed by at least five men.

Leo sped up as much as he could without actually running. He took a sharp right towards the docks, if worse came to worse he would jump into the river. He was wet anyway. This idea was banished when two men blocked the alley he was in. They wore the green masks that identified them as members of the Luchador gang.

"Ya know kid, when the co-boss of one of the largest gangs in the country speaks to you, it's polite to show some respect." The man on the left said. His tone was serious, but his mouth was curled into a smirk.

Leo turned around and received a surprise. The three that were following him were closer than he thought. He was completely surrounded. _Well,_ he thought to himself. _It's been a fun life I suppose._

"So, what can I do for you nice gentlemen?" Leo said, trying and failing to hide the fear in his voice. He did not like the grin he received form one of his stalkers. It was dark and predatory, and he really didn't need an answer to guess what they wanted.

"We were out for some fun, and we found you." The leader said, advancing slowly. Without thinking Leo backed up, right into the other two blocking his exit. Immediately, one of them had him in a steel grip that even a steroid juiced weightlifter would have trouble escaping. Leo hissed as the bruising grip cut off the circulation to his arms.

"You ain't goin' nowhere. Now, if you play nice and keep you teeth out of the way, maybe you can leave with your life. If you're a bad boy..." He cut off, fingering the gun in his waistband. It finished the sentence perfectly.

The man who was holding him, pressed him to his knees and let go. Maybe he assumed that Leo wasn't going to fight, or just figured they could catch him if he did. Either way, Leo didn't care. He may not have had the biggest muscles in the city, but he was no one's bitch. He wasn't going to surrender without a fight.

Leo balled up his fist and aimed it right for the bulge in the leaders jeans. The man let out a yelp and immediately doubled over. Blaine took this chance to aim a kick for the man's nose. When he could feel one of the brutes behind him, the warmth of their breath on his neck, he knocked his head back as hard as he could. It hurt a little, but the crunch told him that the other man's broken nose was worse.

Leo stood up and held his ground. The other men were advancing slowly, but this time with caution. "Now you see why they say assumptions are bad. If you fuckers back off, I'll go home, you'll go home and no one has to find out."

_THUD!_ From behind him, someone hit Leo with something metal. It wasn't even pain as he understood it. It was more like his brain had been disconnected from everything else. He couldn't stand, he couldn't see, and to make matters worse, he couldn't fight.

Once he hit the ground, the group took advantage and started kicking Leo. There were various cracks, and the blows on his ribs, but the only way he could tell was by the wind rushing out of his mouth.

"Stupid, fucking idiot." The leader shouted. He pulled the gun out of his pants and aimed it at Leo's head. At least he wasn't going to be raped...which has to be a silver lining.

_BAM!_ Leo heard the gunshot, but he couldn't see anything. His vision was blurring and he was slipping into the peaceful state of unconsciousness.

When Leo woke up, he knew immediately that he wasn't dead. Death would be better because death would be painless. This was agony. He tried to inhale, but he couldn't without feeling his ribs rub against each other. Each breath was pain. There was a tube in his throat and his body felt like it weighed a ton.

"Look, told ya the kid would make it Shaundi." A man with a thick Australian accent spoke above him. Slowly, other noises started coming to him too, a faint but constant beeping.

"I never said he wasn't going to live, I just said he had a hard road ahead of him. We should get going though before-" A woman's voice this time, void of any emotion one way or the other.

"No." The Australian man again. "You head back to HQ, but I'm gonna stay with him for a bit."

The woman, who Leo assumed was Shaundi let out an irritated sigh and the sound of high heels clicking faded from the room.

Leo was able to open his eyes. The harsh white light of a hospital grated against his optic nerves, but once he got used to them he was able to take in his surroundings. He was in a room of his own, with a variety of machines hooked up to him. A respirator, some I.V.s and a machine that kept check of his breathing and heart rate. Standing out among all the white and sterility was a shock of purple. Leo assumed this was the Australian man because there was no one else in the room with him.

Leo could see that the man had short hair that was laid flat on his head in the Roman style, that the man was well muscled and tan, beyond that though, his feature were obscured. He wore a pair of black sunglasses and a purple bandana that covered most of his face. His shirt, and the belt holding up his pants were purple as well. It was obvious that he was a member of the Third Street Saints. At the moment, Leo didn't care though, this man had saved his life.

"Hey kid, you feelin' alright?" Leo tried to respond, but the tube was making that impossible so he merely nodded.

"Good, since you're up and everything I think we can risk some pain meds and removing that tube of yours. Sound good?" The man asked.

Leo was nervous, but he nodded. At least if he got the tube out he could talk.

"Yo! Doc!" The sudden shout if the man made Leo jump and then cringe in pain. The man turned back towards Leo and made an apologetic face. At least...Leo assumed it was apologetic. The bandana made it hard to tell.

"You know, yelling accomplishes nothing but throat irritation. You might try the button next to the bed." The Doctor said striding into the room. His voice was confident, but the shaking gave him away. He was nervous about being in the company of a gang member.

"And yet, here you are." The still unknown man said. "Look, the kid is awake and groaning, you said that when he woke up you'd give him some medication and take the tube out. I'd like to speak with him.

It was nice to have morphine flowing through his veins. The pain all but melted away and even the irritation in his throat was dying down a little. He wasn't sure if it was the medication or if it was the man who had saved him, but he felt safe, as though nothing could hurt him right now.

"So, do you have a name kid?" The man asked in a soft tone.

"My name's Leo. Leo Shanecroft." Leo said in a hoarse whisper.

"Nice to meet you Leo, my name is Aaron. For...business purposes, it might be better if you don't know my last name. I am the leader of-"

"The Third Street Saints." Leo interrupted. He was unsure if Aaron was going to tell the truth or not. He guessed the latter, since Aaron's eyebrows raise. So Leo quickly explained.

"I didn't know you were the leader, but you wear purple. Either you're a member of the gang or a huge fan."

The bandana twitched to suggest a smile. "Maybe I just like purple eh?"

"In this city, green, red, blue, and purple are not colors one wears without purpose. Frankly, I don't really care, you saved my life. You have my eternal gratitude."

Definitely a smile this time. "The pleasure was mine kid. Can't let a cute thing like you get attacked on my own territory."

Leo blushed at this. Aaron, leader of the Saints thought he was cute. He couldn't get ahead of himself. Surely it didn't mean what he thought it did. He needed a distraction to stop himself from making a fool of himself and getting his ass kicked anyway.

"I thought that the docks belonged to the Luchadors?"

Aaron shook his head, "There was time when we owned the whole city. In recent years our last leader let it fall to shit and waste. I fully intended to reclaim the areas that were ours." Aaron's gravely voice got deep as he said these words. Indicating to Leo that he should agree. Aaron could have told him the sky was purple and he would have nodded his head.

"So, you're not afraid then?"

Leo shook his head. It was odd, logic and reason said that he should be terrified or at the very least concerned, but he couldn't help feeling an attraction to this man.

-Aaron POV

Aaron couldn't help but smile. It was an odd response coming from him. He was used to scowling and shouting a bunch. Leo however...Leo awoke a whole new set of emotions for him to explore and use. The most immediate one was lust, the moment he had seen the kid in the alley he had wanted to fuck him. That was the way his mind worked, animal instincts took priority and human emotions came second. It was not until he had saved this cute man that other feelings welled up inside of him. Attraction, possessiveness, and the need to protect. He would've taken on all three of the rival gangs single handed if he thought it would have made Leo safe.

Of course, for the time being, he would have to keep all of these thoughts to himself. Leo was hurt and was probably not even gay...though there had been that blush earlier.

"Can I see you without your bandana?" Leo asked suddenly. Aaron smiled again. The kid might not have much mass to him, but he was brave and smart...well Aaron assumed book smarts. You couldn't have too much street smarts to talk to a Saint. Aaron nodded his assent though. Reaching back he untied his bandana and let it fall onto the bed, he took off his sunglasses too as he figured Leo wanted to see his whole face.

Leo was silent for a moment, the blush in his cheeks spoke volumes though.

"Not too ugly then?" Aaron asked.

Leo shook his head. "No...you-" He didn't finish, he just looked away.

"Nah, go ahead kid. You've already been all honest with me, don't change tactics now." Aaron thought that Leo was going to say that he was straight and uncomfortable, or that he was gay but the gang member was not his type.

To his surprise though- "No, you're...handsome...I bet...your girlfriend-"

"Girlfriend? Ha! The last time I was in contact with a pussy was when I was born." To think that Aaron had thought that the kid was straight. Leo had obviously thought the same thing. This was the best news he had heard in awhile.

Aaron smiled, "So, what about you? Any boyfriends?"

Leo's face fell as he shook his head, "Who'd want to date a nerd like me?"

"Who wouldn't?" Aaron said. The kid was handsome, perfect even.

Leo let out a little chuckle. "I could give you a list of the men who have turned me down, but it suffices to say that most people wouldn't."

"I'm not most people." Aaron said quietly, his eyes never leaving Leo's. He continued with his next words very carefully, he didn't want to force Leo into anything he was uncomfortable with. "Leo, I would love to take you out on a date, but I also want a real relationship. If you are interested in dating me, I want it to be for _me_ not because you think that you'll never find anyone."

Leo eyes widened. "Date a gang member?"

Aaron smiled again, "Our occupations do not define our love lives. It's not safe for you on the streets, with me you would have protection, money, and most of all...I could treat you right. My moral actions may be reprehensible, but I still have a heart."

"So...you're a good man then?"

"The best." Aaron said cockily with a grin to match.

**This is a link to the character gallery that Aaron is based on. Coincidentally (HA!) This is also my character in the game.**

community/characters/details/126189308848893118


	2. First Kiss

**Remember, reviews are clinically proven to increase world peace and cause a rise of antioxidants.**

***There are no proven results to the above claims. **

-Leo POV

"Another week at least." The doctor said.

Leo sighed with frustration. Why the hell this doctor wasn't letting him go home was beyond him.

"I'm an adult, I have the right to leave whenever I want!" Leo yelled, trying to get up. A soft hand on his shoulder kept him still. He flashed a thankful smile at Aaron, his ribs were still shredded.

"Under normal circumstances, yes. However, I am allowed to keep you against your will if I feel that your life is in danger. Going home alone in your condition would certainly end in your death."

Aaron had already suggested that Leo come with him, but the latter was a little skeptical of such a move. He hardly knew the man, yes he was attractive, but that was a long way away from being a cohabitant. A point for Aaron though had been that he had not pressed the issue.

"Look, doc. If the kid isn't in immediate danger-"

"Aaron, you may be the leader of the Saints, you may pull that gun out of your back pocket and shoot me, but it doesn't change the fact that if he goes home alone, he will die."

"He can stay with us." Leo opened his mouth to argue, but Aaron finished. "I have several spare bedrooms at HQ, we could keep an eye on him."

"There is prescription medication involved, I don't want to find it on the streets."

"I can assure you that no such situation would ever unfold. Any member of my team that attempts to harm the kid or impede his treatment will be killed immediately."

"I guess I'll pretend like I didn't just hear that." The doctor said, "Are you sure that you're ready to take care of him twenty four seven? With his ribs still healing, he won't be ab-"

"Leo won't need to move around, I'll take care of everything."

Leo really wished that someone would let _him _speak. He felt as though the decisions about his life were being taken out of his hands. Though in Steelport, who could be better than the leader of the Saints to look out for him?

In the end, Leo decided to go with Aaron. He really didn't have a choice. His father wasn't answering his calls, and he could not survive laying in a hospital for the next two weeks. The doctor accompanied them to make sure that there were no problems in getting him settled. It really didn't matter, the problems didn't really happen until that night.

Aaron was attentive, making sure that Leo didn't need for anything. It wasn't bad place to be, in fact it was nicer than anything Leo had ever seen in Steelport. The Saint's owned the entire building and the living quarters were on the penthouse levels. Aaron's room was at the top and across the hall was the room that he had given to Leo. When Leo had first arrived the place had been empty, but as the night wore on Leo could hear music blaring from below him.

"Is it bothering you?" Aaron asked making Leo jump. He hadn't heard the older man entering the room.

"No, not really. My place is really quiet, I can hear the sirens and gunshots. I guess this place is a little more dangerous, but it feels safer, ya know?"

Aaron laughed, "It _is_ safer. You're deep in our territory, the other guys don't even try to attack here."

It was then that Leo first met Ted Young. The man was...a monster. At least, that was Leo's immediate reaction. Six foot seven and at least three hundred pounds of pure muscle. Every inch of his skin the Leo could see was covered in tattoos except his face. Even the back of his shaved head carried some ink. He was intimidating, and Leo knew that he was going to cause problems.

"Yo Boss! Shaundi says that- Who's the runt?" Ted said walking through the door making Leo jump again. Only this time it was out of pure fear.

"His name is Leo, Ted. He's here at my request, you will treat him with respect or-"

"Respect? Look at it! I bet I could flick his head and break his neck." Ted said laughing. Leo turned his head away in shame. He may not have been a steroidal freak, but that didn't make him worthless. Leo lifted his head again when he heard the sound of flesh on flesh.

Aaron had punched Ted square in the jaw. Even though Aaron was the smaller man, Ted was whimpering in pain, it was an odd sound compared to his usual booming voice.

"_I_ am the boss Ted, if I tell you to get on your knees and lick the street, you fucking do it. If I tell you start a shooting spree in the park, you fucking do it. And when I tell you to respect the kid, you better fucking do it, or I'll put a bullet in your skull. Do you understand?" Leo felt touched for some weird reason. It wasn't exactly a pretty picture, but he was making sure that he would be safe.

Ted nodded his assent, but when his eyes met Leo's they were dead cold and angry.

-Aaron POV

This was going to be harder than he thought. It wasn't that hard to assert his authority, but he had been hoping that he wouldn't have to. A gang was supposed to be a family, and sometimes families had to accept new members. This shouldn't have been such a hard thing to accept, but apparently it was. He didn't care though, he liked Leo...maybe even loved the kid. It was the same feeling his mother had always described she had felt when she had met his father. She hadn't even talked to him and she had known that they were meant to be together.

"So what is Leo doing here?" Ted asked, giving the kid a glare. Aaron let it go...for now.

"That's not your concern, all that matters is that he is under our protection now." Aaron said. "Now, what did you need?"

Ted looked as though he wanted to press the issue, but a warning look from Aaron and he cleared his throat and explained why he had come up in the first place.

"There's a glitch in the security system. For some reason, whenever we try to activate it, it shuts itself down. We've had to pull double shifts just to keep a guard on at all times. The boys are getting restless."

"You know that I understand as much about electronics as a bird does. What the fuck do you want me to do about it?"

Ted opened his mouth to respond, but Leo's small voice came from the bed. "Can I see it?" The moment he said it his face morphed into one of fear, as though he feared Ted. Aaron just moved so that he was blocking Ted from view though.

"You think you could fix it kid?"

"What I lack in strength, I make up for in intellect. I may not be able to fight of the Luchadors, but I'd put money down that I could fix your system."

"Like we're going to let some outsider into our security system-" Ted began, but Aaron silenced him with a look.

"If you think that you can fix it, I'll let you take a crack at it. Whoa! Hold on." He added as Leo tried to sit up. Aaron walked over a lightly pushed the man back down. "We have it linked up through a laptop. Ted! Go get it would you?" He threw over his shoulder. Ted complied, albeit with a little grumbling.

Aaron was curious if the kid could fix the system, but at the same time he was worried. If Leo couldn't do anything, they were going to have to call in some outside help, which could risk exposure. The Saints avoided letting outsiders in on their workings. Leo was, of course, a special exception.

Ted came back up with a laptop, looking like he wanted to throw it at Leo. However, being the Head of Security meant that he had as much investment in making the system work as Aaron did.

"Here...kid." Ted said in a low voice as Leo took the computer and started typing away. If Aaron had been in love before, he certainly was now. He had never seen anyone work so smoothly at something. All of his concentration was on the screen as he typed away furiously. Yet, at the same time he was smiling wide. He was happy. For the first time since Aaron had met him, he was truly happy. It was then that Aaron came up with an idea.

"You're good at this Leo." Ted admitted reluctantly.

"It's all a matter of what we decide to do with our lives. I doubt that there's a man alive that you can't intimidate. Aaron runs this town pretty well. _I_ on the other hand decided that since I couldn't fight back against bullies I would learn how to get back in other ways. You'd be amazed how much damage you can do to a person's psyche when their parents find out the type of porn their football crazed son downloads." Leo said all of this without taking his eyes off of the screen. A moment later he grinned and looked up.

"There you go." He said handing the laptop back to Ted who took it with a skeptical look. However, as he typed in some commands his jaw dropped.

"The kid fixed it...I can't fucking believe it, I sat up with this goddamn program for three days. What the fuck did you do?" He asked Leo turning towards him.

It was then that Aaron became lost in the conversation. He understood a few of the words, like _the_ and _an_ but the rest of it was gibberish. The conversation ended with Ted smiling and shaking his head in amazement.

"The kid knows his shit Aaron. Do you think-?" Ted started, Aaron held up a hand though. If Leo was going to agree, Aaron himself would have to ask.

"Ted, since everything is all fixed up with the program, why don't you go make sure that the cameras are hooked up?" Aaron had no idea if the cameras needed to be hooked up or if the system they had installed even connected to the cameras, but Ted got the hint and left the room.

Aaron pulled a chair next to the bed. Nothing would have made him happier than to crawl into bed next to Leo and hold him for awhile. However, he knew that in order to gain Leo's heart he would have to tread carefully.

"Leo, I'd like to ask you a question."

"Shoot." Leo said, still smiling from figuring out the security system.

"How would you like to be our technological adviser?"

"What do you mean?" Leo asked, arching an eyebrow. Aaron sighed, he was never good at explaining these types of things.

"It would entirely voluntary, but you could run all of our techno stuff." _And you could be safe._ Aaron added in his mind.

"You mean like a job?" Leo asked, he was smiling again.

Aaron nodded, "You could stay here, we'd get you whatever you need, food, clothes, equipment. You could have the office down the hall, it looks over the river."

-Leo POV

Leo was stoked. He had never imagined such a situation. A job, a good house, safety, money, and best of all he would be doing what he loved. It was true that the job had some...questionable morals, but working for minimum wage in America had some questionable morals too. Besides, it wasn't like he was going out and killing people, he was just going to be working on technological problems for a group of people who needed help. It looked like his life was finally falling into place.

The only concern now was his love life. Aaron was nice, handsome, and protective. However, at the same time he was a member of a gang. What type of emotional stability could he expect? Yet, at the same time...hadn't Leo himself just agreed to help a gang? He was living at their headquarters and had received an office all in less than a day.

Before he could even begin to reconcile these thoughts, before he had even had a chance to react or consider doing it himself Aaron leaned in and kissed him. In that moment, all of his cares melted away. It was pure passion and love. It was perfect, Aaron's tongue wasn't being demanding, it was simply a chaste kiss that lasted a few seconds. To Leo though, it lasted so much longer. It felt as though he was leaving his body and conjoining with Aaron's soul.

"Sorry," Aaron whispered as he pulled back. "I didn't want to wait and risk you rejecting me, I had to see what it would be like to kiss you. I'd understand if you want to shoot me in the kneecaps, but ...I just had to know."


End file.
